No one knows the difference between Grendel and Beowulf. No one knows that Grendel may be a better fighter than Beowulf, but all of that does not matter. To people today, Grendel is seen as evil. “For its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones And smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls Of his den.” (Anonymous 448-450). On the other hand, Beowulf is known as a man who deeply loves others. “Nor have I seen a mightier man-at-arms on this earth than the one standing here: unless I am mistaken, he is truly noble. This is no mere hanger-on in a hero's armour." (Anonymous 244-251). Therefore, Beowulf is more of loyal and compassionate person than Grendel is.
They both have many virtues. Beowulf is loyal
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to his kingdom, even though he is not a dane. After defending Grendel and Grendel's mother, he comes home he pays his honor to his own king. Even when he is going to fight Grendel, he shows that he is loyal. “I had a fixed purpose when I put to sea. As I sat in the boat with my band of men, I meant to perform to the uttermost what your people wanted or perish in the attempt, in the fiend's clutches. And I shall fulfill that purpose, prove myself with a proud deed or meet my death here in the mead-hall.”(Anonymous 632-638). There are not many virtues that Grendel has, in Beowulf, he is mostly only described as evil, he has more vices than virtues. Grendel is not really just a enemy, the author personifies him and makes him a monster. The author describes him as a friend out of hell. “So times were pleasant for the people there until finally one, a fiend out of hell,began to work his evil in the world.” (Anonymous 99-101). Also, he kills during the night, “They have seen my strength for themselves, Have watched me rise from the darkness of war, Dripping with my enemies' blood. I drove Five great giants into chains, chased All of that race from the earth. I swam In the blackness of night, hunting monsters Out of the ocean, and killing them one By one; death was my errand and the fate…”(Anonymous 417-425). Just like Grendel does not have any virtues, Beowulf does not have many vices. Beowulf is more of a loving and compassionate type of fighter. Although, he does has many intrinsic motivations. Beowulf has many intrinsic motivations.
Beowulf wants to prove his strength to the people, and he wants fame, while he is away fighting with Grendel. He shows everyone, including the Queen his strength. While she praises him for defeating Grendel, she also ask him to remember the rights that her sons have while living in the Danish kingdom. “Be acclaimed for strength, for kindly guidance to these two boys, and your bounty will be sure.”( Anonymous 1219-1220). Grendel also has some intrinsic motivations. For example, Grendel hated when the danes were happy, therefore he decided to attack the danes. It is also motivated by his evilness. “The monster relished his savage war On the Danes, keeping the bloody feud Alive, seeking no peace, offering No truce, accepting no settlement, no price In gold or land, and paying the living For one crime only with another. No one Waited for reparation from his plundering claws: That shadow of death hunted in the darkness, Stalked Hrothgar's warriors.”(Anonymous 86-94). Grendel usually only has intrinsic motivations, because he does not like anyone, and anger is within yourself not within other people. Therefore, he does not have many extrinsic motivations. On the other hand, Beowulf does have some extrinsic
motivations. Some of Beowulf’s extrinsic motivations are, how Beowulf killed Grendel's mother. Once, Grendel got killed, his mother wanted revenge for it all, so because Beowulf was the one who did it, she seeked revenge on him. No one would be happy if someone wanted revenge on you. Therefore, Beowulf's motivation to kill Grendel’s mother, was so that she can not seek revenge on him. “She'd brooded on her loss, misery had brewed In her heart, that female horror, Grendel's Mother, living in the murky cold lake Assigned her since Cain had killed his only Brother, slain his father's son With an angry sword.”(Anonymous 1258-1263).
Beowulf wants to fight Grendel, a monster wreaking havoc, and is boasting that he is more powerful and courageous.
In both John Gardner’s Grendel, and the poem Beowulf, there are significant differences between characters, and the way they are portrayed in each of the tellings. The interpretation of a hero is usually altered in order to fit the audience, such as, Saddam Hussein in America is made out to be this monster whereas, in his home country Iraq, he is looked at as a hero and idolized by some. In each telling, Grendel and Beowulf have many similarities in how they are described in each writing, but each character is also shown in a different light in each of the writings.
There are many similarities and differences between the movie "Beowulf and Grendel", to the poem. Major differences between the movie and the poem would be Grendel himself. In the poem, he is described as an evil monster born from two demons. In the movie, Grendel is actually human, but known as a troll to the warriors and Danes. The poem doesn’t give the background of Grendel or show how the Danes killed his father and the possible reason of his revenge, like in the movie. If the witch, Selma, was not included in the storyline of the movie, the audience would not have known key information that she was used to show from more flashbacks. The witch gives more of an idea about Grendel’s past life that could have been the possibility to reasons for his actions. Some major similarities are the battles. Both epics include the battles between Beowulf and Grendel, as well as Beowulf and Grendel’s mother. The end results are the same, leading to their death, but the journey and process to the two tales are different.
The first opponent Beowulf must face in the land of the Danes is Grendel, textually described as “a fiend out of hell … [a] grim demon / haunting the marches, / marauding round the heath / and the desolate fens” (Beowulf, line 100 – 104). The author also provides us with a moral description, explaining how Grendel is “merciless … malignant by nature, he never showed remorse” (line 135-137). As we can see here, the author’s physical and moral portrayal of Grendel is rather unforgiving. We also resent Grendel further once we learn that he has wreaked havoc upon the Heorot hall for twelve years, “inflicting constant cruelties on the people / atrocious hurt” (line 165).
In each battle Beowulf acts to avenge what has been done to other people. Beowulf fights Grendel because Grendel attacks the mead-hall and kills the people inside the hall. The only reason Beowulf goes after Grendel’s mother is because Hrothgar pleads with Beowulf to right the death of his friend by killing Grendel’s mother. Lastly, Beowulf goes after the dragon because it has attacked his kingdom and he must protect his people. Beowulf goes into battle to protect and avenge not because he likes it. Beowulf never denies a battle but instead accepts each challenge thrown his way. In every battle Beowulf is able to defeat the monster and become victorious. He manages to rid the people of the threat in every situation and bring peace back to the kingdom. While there are similarities between the battles, each battle has its own
1. An anti-hero is the opposite of a hero. It is the character that goes against all the traditional values of society. Grendel has strong traits of the average anti-hero. He lives in a cave with his mother in the middle of no where. Everybody in the land refuses to accept him, even as the lowest of their kind, and they are constantly trying to kill him. He is deprived the rules and consequences of society by not being allowed to join men, he rejects the values and rules of political establishment by terrorizing Hrothgar’s kingdom, and he is often angry because when the shaper sings he falls into the trance of possibility, but then remembers the dragon.He cannot figure out what he wants for himself.
There are many different things that can motivate people. There are three major motivators for Beowulf to fight the three monsters in the epic poem Beowulf. Duty is what motivated Beowulf to fight Grendel. Although Beowulf may have not wanted to fight Grendel he knew he had to. Beowulf was motivated by glory to fight against Grendel’s mom. Beowulf had to achieve something that would make his name live on after he had died. Treasure motivated Beowulf to fight against the dragon. Beowulf got both a physical treasure and an emotional treasure from his victory over the
From this novel, the audience is able to get into the mind of this monster and feel his pain, loneliness, and misunderstanding as well as come to realize that Grendel is no monster at all, but rather he represents a reflection of man. Although you could argue that man is a monster himself in this story through the merciless and barbaric actions of the humans, especially Beowulf. Beowulf is represented minimally throughout the story, whereas in “Beowulf” he is shown with much more valor. However, In Gardner's Grendel, Beowulf is depicted as a cruel and narcissistic man. For example, Grendel describes Beowulf as a irrational and greedy man, “He’s crazy. I understand him all right, make no mistake. Understand his lunatic theory of matter and mind, the chilly intellect, the hot imagination, blocks and builder, reality as stress”(Gardner 172). Beowulf does not possess the same qualities in Grendel has he does in the epic poem, “Beowulf.” This is due to the contrasting perspectives of the same character in each book. Like the narrator in Beowulf, Grendel is biased because of his intuitive dislike for humans as well as Grendel’s knowledge that Beowulf is seeking to destroy him. Grendel is also an outcast and monitors the day-to-day lives of the Danish people. His opinions of the people are formed based off of what he observes, sees, and hears. This gives Grendel’s opinions of the
Grendal, a descendant of Cain, is one of the main antagonist of the poem Beowulf. He lives under an inherited curse and is denied God’s presence. Throughout the story Grendal causes enormous grief and fear to the people of Herot. After so much pain and agony the king of Herot, Hrothgar, sends for the protagonist of the poem, Beowulf. He is a Geat and the epic hero of the poem. The wide variety of distinctions between Grendal and Beowulf is what develops the climax of the composition. Beowulf kills Grendal, so he is honored by the people of Herot for his heroic act. Since Grendal and Beowulf play opposite roles in the poem, Beowulf, they let the reader know how contrasting characters can develop the plot of the story.
Beowulf begins with Grendel attacking the Danes out of vengeance and hatred. Grendel is the relative of Cain which means that he is outcast to eternal darkness as punishment for the crime of Cain killing his brother Abel. Therefore, when Grendel hears laughter in the hall named Heorot, he is angry and a little envious, so he goes on a killing spree in order to put an end to the warriors’ happiness. Because of Grendel’s attack upon the Danes, Beowulf arrives in order to put an end to the killing spree: “And now alone I shall settle affairs with Grendel the monster, the demon” (Donaldson, p.8). The author offers no other solution to solving this issue with Grendel but battle, and after the battle is fought and Beowulf wins, Grendel’s hand is preserved as a trophy. Beowulf is rewarded with gifts for his courage, and now the Danes are at peace.
He was looking for a way to become known, so he arrived with his fellow Geats to help the Danes. Beowulf had access to many weapons, armor, and warriors, but he still decided to take on the deadly challenge alone and without protection. He doesn’t think of the consequences, or abilities of the opponent. “‘When it comes to fighting, I count myself as dangerous any day as Grendel.’” (47: 677-678). Beowulf is overconfident in his abilities, and doesn’t take into consideration how many people Grendel has killed. He goes in with his own men not expecting to see him again. “None of them expected he would ever see his homeland again.” (47: 691-692). This is why the inner threat of Beowulf was more barbaric. Grendel was indeed a worthy opponent, and very dangerous, but Beowulf’s careless actions could have
The story of “Beowulf” begins at a time where a great hero is needed. This is where Beowulf’s character takes the initial place of an epic hero. In the first story of “Beowulf,” Beowulf takes on the responsibility of destroying the great threat, Grendel. This immediately shows the courage, honor and bravery of Beowulf. When Beowulf sailed to the Danes to kill Grendel, he was not searching for money, he was simply putting the Geats lives before his own. Beowulf was not yet
The author of Beowulf demonizes Grendel by depicting him as being purely a monster as compare to John Gardner who depicts Grendel not as a savage monster but as an intelligent being who has human like qualities and characteristics. In the traditional story Grendel is depicted as a blood-thirsty fiend driven by his greedy animal instincts. ...
During his battle with Grendel, Beowulf showed strength and courage. “That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime, knew at once that nowhere on Earth had he met a man whose hands were harder; his mind was flooded with fear- but nothing could take his talons and himself from that tight hard grip”(416). Despite Grendel's reputation of slaughtering everyone in his path Beowulf struck fear in the heart of the monster. Beowulf's lack of fear is inspiring among men because despite Grendel's animalistic strength and ferocity he maimed the beast. Knowing that at any moment the roles could reverse and he could die “that mighty protector of men meant to hold the monster till its life leaped out, knowing the fiend was no use to a anyone in Denmark”
...and defeated Grendel by himself, furthering his desire to become a major hero. After the death of Grendel, Beowulf and his crew left but soon returned when notice arrived saying that Grendel’s mother was now attacking. Beowulf returned to Denmark and there, vanquished Grendel’s mother adding more to his accomplishments. Beowulf fought for Denmark because he wanted to further increase his reputation and spread news of how great he was. During the story of Beowulf, we are informed that Beowulf thinks highly of himself, but takes no advantage of the people around him, “Thus Beowulf bore himself with valour; / he was formidable in battle yet behaved with honour / and took no advantage” (2177-2179). He believed if he helped, he would become a legend for Denmark. With this assumption, Beowulf is a good example of a man who fights by putting his own reasons before others.